This invention relates to meat like products having distinct lean and fatty appearing regions and the method of preparing them, and more particularly to a simulated bacon product having a fried appearance and texture resembling fried bacon.
In the past decade, research and development efforts have been undertaken to produce meat--or protein-containing foods from vegetable and animal protein sources. Economics provided an incentive in the attempt to substitute the more efficient process of growing vegetable porteins for the rather inefficient process in which animals convert proteinaceous vegetable materials into meat. Another factor contributing to prior work was the ever-increasing human population which was feared to be outdistancing the ability to provide grazing land for meat-producing animals. Recent efforts have been also directed to avoiding certain natural products, such as saturated fat and cholesterol which are of concern to people who must be on special diets for health reasons; or for many people who refuse to eat meat or meat by-products for religious reasons. The main shortcoming of the prior art efforts has been the failure to produce synthetic products that truly have a texture, appearance, and flavor similar or equivalent to the natural product. An early patent to DeVoss, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,706, teaches formation of a vegetable gel from the proteinaceous content of soybeans. Other early efforts were the Boyer patents, U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,466, No. 2,730,447, and No. 2,730,448, drawn to preparing spun protein for use in synthesizing vegetable protein fibers resembling natural meat. Later contributions were made by Anson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,737 and No. 2,830,902, who developed a vegetable protein product prepared from a non-uniform mixture of meat-like protein gel having therein a minor amount of kneaded dough. The Anson products were intended for preparing luncheon slices as a nutritious substitute for the meat-based luncheon slices on the market. Further developments by Anson are exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. No. 2,813,024, No. 2,813,025, No. 2,833,651, and No. 2,879,163, which are generally drawn to producing meat products resembling meat spreads, or drawn to the use of protein filaments to synthesize meat. A further attempt at making luncheon meats and the like is characterized by Durst, U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,873, who makes luncheon loaves by forming a gel-like dispersion containing an external phase formed from edible hydrophilic film-former, and a discontinuous internal phase formed from an edible lipophilic fluid. Durst teaches that excess water prior to initial mixing has a detrimental effect on the ultimate emulsion. Several attempts by the inventors of the current assignee are Rusoff, U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,395, who made meat fibers by heat treatment of vegetable or meat protein slurries; and MacAllister, U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,031, who prepared hamburger-like granules from vegetable protein. A recent patent to Hartman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,070, is directed to preparing a bacon analog employing acid coagulated protein fibers bound together in a vegetable protein matrix.
Other U.S. patents of interest are: Circle, No. 2,881,159; Sair, No. 3,440,054, Andregg, No. 2,776,212; Dudman, No. 2,785,069; Sair, No. 2,881,076; Tobin, No. 3,000,743; Westeen, No. 3,118,959; Ziegenfuss, No. 3,124,466; Elmquist, No. 3,175,909; Kuromoto, No. 3,177,079; Hartman, No. 3,290,152; Johnsen, No. 3,308,113; Kjelson, No. 3,343,963; Boushka, No. 3,416,929; Hawley, No. 3,469,991 and Page, No. 3,498,793.
Since consumer acceptance of meat-like products formulated from non-meat high-protein materials is in large measure predicated upon the extent of appearance, texture, taste, and chewiness duplication of natural meat products, considerable difficulty is occasioned by proceeding from vegetable or animal-derived protein sources to a final meat-like food product. This is particularly true for bacon where large external differences are present between the lean and fatty portions of the bacon. Prior art techniques have heavily relied on spun protein fibers prepared by acid coagulating a soluble vegetable protein. These fibers are then grouped together, stretched, and cut into various lengths, and generally bound together with a binder to prepare the desired final meat product. It is apparent in reading the Hartman patent that the use of spun fibers in his bacon analog is essential, as is the use of a higher percentage of albumen in the colored region, to the development of textural characteristics in his product which is currently sold as "Stripples".